


Hangover

by schlopreceptacle



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: M/M, drunken antics, mostly fluffy, tumblr: kakavegeweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 15:16:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17562932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schlopreceptacle/pseuds/schlopreceptacle
Summary: Vegeta has a little too much to drink while hanging out on Beerus's planet - and Goku has to clean up the mess.Kakavege Week Day 1: Drunken Antics





	1. The Morning After

Vegeta woke slowly as the sun crept its way through the window of the bedroom. He blinked. His eyelids felt heavy and full. As he made the return to consciousness he realized three things: He had a massive migraine; there was a good chance he was about to throw up; and he was very much not alone in his bed. 

A warm body lay behind him, snoring violently in a familiar cadence. As familiar as it was, he was not quite sure why this person was in  _ his  _ bed. Vegeta tried to sit up, but vertigo flooded over him and he crashed back into his pillow. Involuntarily he groaned. 

The body next to him snorted and huffed, and the snoring changed to a long, dramatic yawn. 

A long, muscular arm flopped over onto Vegeta's shoulder. He wanted nothing more than to leap up and send a kick into the offender's face then fly the fuck out of there, but the pounding in his skull kept him glued to the bed.

“Ah! Good morning, Geta.”

“Kakarot,” Vegeta grunted, “what. The fuck.”

“You okay?”

The idiot's face suddenly made its way into his vision, blurry as it was. Vegeta yanked the pillow over his eyes to hide Kakarot’s stupid visage from view.

“Vegeta!”

Kakarot tried to yank the pillow away, but Vegeta only held it closer. 

“What the fuck was in that alcohol?” Vegeta groaned from behind the pillow. He had many other questions, too, but this was the most pressing topic in his mind. 

“I would have thought Saiyan liquor would be worse than anything else you’ve tried!” Kakarot squeaked. Vegeta wanted to say there was no such thing as Saiyan liquor anymore, but if he opened his mouth, he was sure to vomit. 

Vegeta felt the bed move as Kakarot stood up. He snuck a peek out from behind the pillow to see Kakarot's bare ass, lit up by the sun streaming through the window. 

Vegeta leapt up in shock, ignoring the pain that slammed into the inside of his skull, and flung the blankets off himself to reveal his own very naked lower half. 

“Kakarot! Explain!” 

Kakarot jumped at Vegeta’s sudden yelp, then abruptly pulled his shorts up. Vegeta glanced around the room. His vision was still blurry, but he could see his own and Kakarot’s clothes tossed haphazardly across the floor. 

The idiot turned and scratched the back of his head. “Vegeta - are you upset? You wanted me to sleep with you, remember?” 

Vegeta’s mouth gaped. 

“S… sleep? With me?” 

“You don’t remember?” 

“What do you mean, sleep with me!?” 

“Ah… well…” 

Vegeta again uttered an incomprehensible groan. Suddenly the nausea took hold. He leapt up and raced to the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time. 

“Vegeta! Let me get you some water…” 

He collapsed next to the toilet, barely holding himself up. He had not been this hungover… well, ever. And apparently he had never been so drunk, because now he could not remember a single thing from the night before. Which apparently had been an eventful evening. 

Again a wave of nausea crashed over him, and he retched into the toilet just in time for Kakarot to come in with a glass. 

Kakarot knelt down and put a hand on Vegeta’s shoulder. 

“Get off me, damnit!” Vegeta shouted, then barfed again. “Just get the hell out of here!” 

“Fine,” Kakarot said, actually sounding hurt and confused. Dejected, he left the bathroom and closed the door behind him. 

That bewildered Vegeta even more than anything else that was happening right now. Certainly Kakarot should be used to Vegeta’s constant dismissals. He sat back down against the wall of the bathroom and closed his eyes. He wracked his brain, which pounded harder the more he tried to remember. What had happened last night?

“Kakarot! Get back in here.”

The door opened immediately; he should have known the idiot would be waiting out there.

Vegeta looked up at his rival's concerned face, then he rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Tell me what the fuck happened last night.”

“Umm...are you sure? Like, everything, or just the main points?”

_ What the hell was that supposed to mean?  _

“Everything, Kakarot.”


	2. Frog Brain Juice

“Come on, Whis!” Goku whined, his stomach rumbling almost as loud as his pleading. “We’ve just been eating this crappy food for weeks!”

Beerus opened his eyes just enough to glare at Goku from across the table. “You should consider yourselves lucky that we would deign to share any of our food with you in the first place,” the destroyer god warned. 

Goku pouted. “You know, we could get a lot stronger if we had some yummy food to eat,” he muttered. 

Next to him, Vegeta scoffed through a mouthful of rations. “This food is nutritionally dense and satisfying, Kakarot. Just eat it and shut up.” 

“But Whis and Beerus get to eat cake and fancy oysters and stuff!” Just thinking about it was making him drool. 

“Lord Beerus,” said Whis, “perhaps Goku has a point. We could certainly share at least a sample of some of the food we’ve taken from other planets.” 

“A true Saiyan eats whatever is available,” Vegeta rambled. “Bugs, carrion, boring rations. It doesn’t matter as long as it makes us stronger.” 

“Gross!” The thought of eating a piece of road kill was turning Goku’s stomach. “Please, Whis, just give us something tasty! I don’t want to eat bugs!” 

Beerus chuckled. “You know, the beetles of Kanassa were once a very delicious delicacy when the planet was in its infancy.” 

Goku sighed. Clearly he was not about to get his way. Despondent, he began to spoon the boring rations into his mouth. Vegeta was right; it was filling enough, the rehydrated diced vegetables and meat, but it was bland and unsatisfying. 

“Actually, I can think of something that might interest you Saiyans,” Beerus said with a sly look.

“What do you have in mind, my lord?” asked the attendant, half an eyebrow raised. 

Goku almost jumped out of his seat with anticipation. “I hope it’s some real meat!” he squealed. 

“Whis, if you will, go get that beverage that we harvested from Manu that time,” the destroyer god ordered. 

“Of course, my lord.” With that, Whis rose into the air and floated gracefully from the room. 

A drink? Goku frowned, but he knew better than to say anything at this point. Sometimes it was funny to invoke the wrath of Beerus - but he also was learning how far he could actually go before the god started to really freak out. 

Vegeta, though, looked like he was ready for battle. “I hope that this is a good, strong drink, Lord Beerus,” he said with a grin.

Whis had returned with a beautifully decorated decanter full of a cherry red liquid. 

“This,” he said, placing it on the table and procuring three glasses, “is a drink made from the fermented brains of the frogs of Manu.” 

Goku gagged. “That is disgusting!” 

“It’s one of the strongest liquors that we’ve ever encountered, isn’t it, Lord Beerus?” 

“That’s right, Whis.” Beerus leaned forward and wafted the smell of the alcohol from his glass. “We never quite got its name, but we have been fermenting it ourselves for a couple thousand years.” 

“You can actually  _ drink _ that?” Goku had never been much of a drinker, and the thought of drinking two thousand-year old frog-brain-juice wasn’t about to make him start. 

“I don’t see why not,” Whis said with a shrug. 

Vegeta seemed to be evaluating the beverage, but his face was unreadable. Goku knew that he wouldn’t stand down, especially now that he had declared how much he wanted a drink. 

“Are you actually going to drink that?” Goku asked in a loud whisper. 

“Shut up, Kakarot,” Vegeta hissed, and with that he lifted the glass and took a sip. 

Beerus followed suit. A moment or two passed, and suddenly Vegeta turned bright red and wheezed loudly. 

“Why is it spicy!?” Vegeta cried hoarsely.

“It’s got quite a kick to it, doesn’t it?” Beerus said, licking his lips. “Best to sip it slowly. It has no impact on me, of course, but I think you’ll find that it takes effect quickly.” 

Goku realized that Vegeta had a crazed grin plastered over his face. Goku sat back, both intrigued and alarmed, and watched as Vegeta took another sip. 

“Aren’t you going to try some, Goku?” Whis asked, kindly enough, but Goku realized he was losing face by not having any. 

“Umm… I dunno… I don’t really drink,” he mumbled. 

“Come on, Kakarot!” Vegeta shouted, his voice dramatically louder than usual. He landed a slap on Goku’s upper back that slammed the air right out of his lungs. 

Goku coughed for air and glared. He looked at the drink. “I’ll take a sip, I guess.” He lifted the glass and brought it slowly toward his face. The smell wafting from the glass was nightmare-inducing; it had to be exactly what a pile of frog corpses would smell like, if it had been left in the sun and then covered up with rubbing alcohol. Goku gagged again, and some of the liquid sloshed out of the glass and onto the table. The red fluid hissed, and Goku squealed in alarm as it burned through the ancient wood table with a wisp of red smoke. 

“Nope!” Goku shouted, placing the glass back down. “Thanks for dinner! I’m going to just have some water now!” 

Beerus chuckled. Next to him, Vegeta was swaying in his chair. “You know, Kakarot, this is why you’re not a very good Saiyan. You won’t just do what it takes!” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Goku demanded. He had never seen Vegeta drunk before. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he had ever even seen Vegeta drink at all before. 

“Don’t mind him, Goku,” Whis said gently. “He’s going to be intoxicated for awhile. We probably shouldn’t let him finish this glass, as a matter of fact.” 

Whis leaned forward to retrieve Vegeta’s now half-consumed glass. “Don’t you dare!” Vegeta shouted, lunging. But Whis took the glass and gracefully moved it out of Vegeta’s trajectory, leaving him to fall face-first onto the table. 

“Oh my,” Whis remarked. 

Beerus yawned. “Goku, get him out of here before he hurts himself, will you?” 

“Ah-ha-ha, okay!” Goku wasn’t really sure what to do with Vegeta, who had stood back up and started wobbling after Whis like he was both dizzy and traveling through mud. “Um, come on, Vegeta!” 

Goku grabbed the smaller Saiyan and was immediately met with a punch to the face. It didn’t hurt too bad, given that Vegeta was so wasted, but it still caught Goku off guard, and he fell flat on his ass. 

“Jeez, Vegeta!” 

“Don’t touch me, you third class peasant!” 

“Why are you being so mean?” 

“I’m your Prince! I’m Prince Vegeta! Prince of All Saiyans!” Vegeta pounded his chest with one gloved fist. Goku was pretty sure he was cross-eyed at this point. 

“Can’t you just knock him out or something?” Beerus said, his tone sounding increasingly bored. 

Goku knew it was a bad thing when Beerus got bored. “Ah… yeah, I guess.” Goku landed a gentle but precise neck chop to Vegeta, who crumpled to the floor. 

“He won’t be out for long, but he’ll still be drunk when he wakes up again,” Beerus warned as Goku picked up Vegeta and cradled him like a baby. 

Goku looked down. Vegeta’s eyebrows remained crinkled and angry even in unconsciousness. The Prince’s hair was uncharacteristically disheveled. Goku blushed when he realized it was actually kind of cute. 

“Umm… see you guys tomorrow, I guess,” Goku said by way of goodbye. With that, he flew into the air to bring Vegeta back to their chambers. 


	3. Happy Drunk

Goku flopped Vegeta onto his bed, then sat on his own bed and stared at the sleeping Prince. Vegeta’s face had relaxed slightly, revealing a calm mouth and eyebrows that made him look younger, almost childlike. Goku thought about the handful of times he had seen Vegeta genuinely smile, and he wished for a moment that Vegeta could have been a happy drunk, not a belligerent, fighting one. 

Vegeta stirred. With a gasp he sat up and looked around. 

“Kakarot!” To Goku’s immense surprise, Vegeta grinned. It was exactly the smile that Goku had just been wishing for - full of genuine joy, not just his usual taunting smirk. 

“Ah… hi.” Goku couldn’t help but smile back. “Are you okay?” 

“I am so good!” Vegeta leapt up onto the bed, then looked down at Goku. “Haha! I’m so tall now! Am I taller than you?” Vegeta beckoned. “Come over here! I want to see if I’m taller than you now!” 

Goku laughed. “Okay!” He leapt up and stood next to the bed. Vegeta jumped up and down excitedly. “I think you’re taller!” 

“YES!” Vegeta bellowed, even louder than before, and burst into Super Saiyan. 

Goku didn’t know what to say - though the sight of Vegeta standing a head taller than him, glowing with the aura and energy of Super Saiyan and a huge grin on his face, made Goku’s chest swell with a joy he could not explain. Had he ever seen Vegeta this happy? 

Vegeta leapt off the bed, suddenly so graceful - where before he had been stumbling like a toddler - and right onto Goku, sending them both flying back toward Goku’s bed. Goku landed on his back with a grunt, absorbing the full weight of the smaller Saiyan, who then sat contentedly on his lap like a cat.

“You know what, Kakarot?” the drunken Prince slurred, pointing a gloved finger at Goku’s nose. “You are a handsome Saiyan.” 

Goku scratched the back of his head. Vegeta’s behavior was beginning to confuse him. “I think you should lie back down.” He tried to sit up, but Vegeta pinned him to the bed.

Goku had to admit that he wasn’t trying too hard to resist. He knew he could have easily shoved Vegeta off, but he was enjoying this pleasant version of the Prince. He wanted to see what he would do next. 

“Seriously!” Vegeta cried. “Your hair…” He yanked his gloves off and tossed them to the ground. Goku watched as Vegeta slowly reached up, a look of wonder on his face, a look that Goku had never even known Vegeta’s face was capable of making. His hand nestled into Goku’s mop of hair and entwined his fingers through the locks. 

He was purring. Goku knew that Saiyans could purr - he had even done it a few times - but hearing it come from Vegeta was… something else. He suddenly felt very hot, and he knew he was blushing, but he couldn’t deny that the gesture felt  _ so  _ nice. He closed his eyes and purred back. 

He knew that Vegeta was drunk. Drugged, even, by whatever the hell was in that terrible drink. Yet Goku couldn’t resist letting drunk-slash-high Vegeta do whatever he wanted to him - as long as it was this pleasant. 

Realizing that Vegeta had dropped out of Super Saiyan and stopped stroking his hair, Goku opened his eyes. Vegeta now looked sad and dejected. A tear welled up in his eye, then slid silently down his cheek. 

“Vegeta?” Goku asked, finally sitting up. Vegeta didn’t even resist and just flopped onto his side on the bed, then began sobbing in the fetal position. 

“What the hell?” Goku muttered. He looked around, as though there would be something in the room that could help him. He didn’t even know what to do when Chi Chi or Bulma burst into tears, let alone when his rival and sparring partner started crying. 

“Um… Vegeta… okay. Just stay there!” 

Goku ran from the room, then leapt into the air. He only hoped he could find Whis before he went to bed. _Actually_ , he wondered, _does Whis even sleep?_ _Beerus definitely does. That guy is really scary when he doesn’t get enough sleep._

Luckily, Whis was right where he had left him, sipping some tea. 

“Goku, what a surprise.” Whis placed his cup of tea on the table. “How is our friend?” 

“Um… he’s acting really weird!” Goku squealed. “I’m sort of worried… when is he going to snap out of it?” 

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure.” Whis did not seem concerned. “Like Lord Beerus pointed out, alcohol has little to no effect on us. And it’s hard to say how the Saiyan body metabolizes alcohol of such strength. So it really remains to be seen!” Whis gave Goku a friendly smile. 

“That… doesn’t help very much,” Goku said, scratching his head. 

“Well, just keep him hydrated and maybe knock him out again if he becomes a pest.” Whis went back to sipping his tea. 

Goku shrugged and flew back to the room. He found Vegeta in his own bed, tucked under the covers with a funny look on his face. 

Goku stopped in the doorway, not sure how to proceed. Sober Vegeta was usually pretty predictable, if prone to angry outbursts. But this Vegeta had caught him off guard - going from fighting and belligerent to fun and happy to sad and sobbing. And now whatever this was. 

“Come over here.” Vegeta snuck a hand out from under the covers and patted the bed. 

Goku walked over slowly, avoiding Vegeta’s gaze, and sat on the bed. 

“Look at me.” It was an order, with Vegeta's usual gruffness, but not unkind. Goku looked up. Vegeta’s eyes seemed extra big - perhaps it was just the heavily dilated pupils - and he was purring again. He reached his hand out and rested it on Goku’s. “You know, I wouldn’t be the same Saiyan I am today if I had never met you.” 

This topped anything else that Vegeta had done so far tonight. Goku felt his heart racing. He couldn’t look Vegeta in the eye. Should he even respond? Would Vegeta even remember any of this? 

“Is that a… a bad thing?” he finally mustered the will to say. 

“No, Kakarot.” Vegeta’s voice had a strange affectionate tone to it. Goku imagined this was how Vegeta must talk to Bulma in their most intimate moments, which only made him feel weird. He tried to sneak his hand away, but Vegeta held it tighter. 

“You’re only saying this because you’re super drunk on that terrible drink,” Goku said. He couldn’t help but laugh. 

He expected Vegeta to punch him, but the Prince only laughed back. “Maybe you’re right. But everything feels so clear right now!” Vegeta spread his arms wide, finally releasing Goku’s hand. His movements pushed the bedding down to reveal that Vegeta had, at the very least, removed his shirt. Goku looked away. 

Vegeta sat up and placed a gentle hand on Goku’s blushing cheek. “Don’t you see? We’re Saiyans!” Vegeta gesticulated wildly, like he had lost all control of his limbs. “You push me to be stronger and you always have. I love you, Kakarot!” 

“Wha---” 

The Prince leaned in and pulled the taller Saiyan toward him with a strong hand on the back of his neck, pressing his open mouth into Goku’s until Goku melded into him. 

Goku’s breath escaped him and for a moment he felt like he was going to faint. He had never admitted it out loud - and probably never would - but he had imagined such a moment, over and over again, for years. He always knew it was a fantasy, and he had done everything in his power to squash it and resist it and deny it. But now… 

He gasped as their lips parted with a loud sound. Vegeta looked dazed, though he still smiled. Meeting Vegeta’s eyes, he didn't quite recognize the person in front of him. He knew that his fantasy was still just that - because this Vegeta was not quite  _ his  _ Vegeta. 

With a sigh, he pulled away, even as Vegeta seemed to be leaning in for more. 

“Vegeta, I… I love you too.” Goku had to look down again, as Vegeta’s dark eyes, despite their drunkenness, seemed to be cutting right through him. “I guess I always have. But you’re really drunk. Or high. Or… something.” He looked up. Vegeta was looking really sleepy, much to his relief. “I think we should just go to bed… and maybe talk about this in the morning?” 

“Okay Kakarot,” Vegeta said, nodding obediently. Then he crashed back onto his pillow and closed his eyes. 

Goku rose slowly, then pulled the covers over Vegeta. He realized how exhausted he was. The excitement of the kiss had sent his head spinning, and now he didn’t know what to do with all of the crazy thoughts running through his mind. 

_ Vegeta loves me. But he’s drunk. Is he even telling the truth? Is he messing with me? And he kissed me?! That’s got to mean something, right? Vegeta would never do any of this while sober.  _

Goku took off his clothes as he walked back toward his bed, ready to fall asleep and get this bizarre night over with. But then Vegeta called out. 

“Kakarot?” 

He sounded like a lonely child. Goku turned back. Vegeta was holding out one muscular arm, his hand desperately reaching. “Will you sleep with me? I don’t like to sleep alone.” 

Goku wondered if that was true, too, or just a side effect of the alcohol. But he had lost his own capacity to deny the Prince, whose drunken requests were just too endearing. “Okay, Vegeta.” 

Vegeta made a contented sound as Goku crawled naked into bed next to his rival. He tried to give Vegeta some space, facing away from him, but Vegeta nudged his way closer until Goku found himself being spooned. A strong arm wrapped itself across his side, a surprisingly soft hand resting against his chest. The warmth enveloping him was almost too much, but it provided him with more comfort than he could have imagined. He fought sleep, for a time, trying to memorize the feeling of Vegeta’s skin, the taut muscles pressing against his own, Vegeta’s soft breath blowing onto his shoulder, the sensation of purring in unison. But sleep soon came for them both. 


	4. Regular Vegeta

“You’re lying, Kakarot!”

It had to be the only explanation. Yet the more Kakarot had spoken about their night, the more blurry memories seemed to be rising to the surface. Vegeta shook his head. Bad idea; he had to press his palms to his temples to get the pounding to stop. 

“There is no way that I kissed you!” 

Vegeta buried his face in the pillow in frustration. So much of the morning had already passed and he hardly felt any better. He had finally stopped barfing, then demanded that Kakarot tell him the whole story, but it only seemed to be making his headache worse. 

Dumbass Kakarot had blundered his way through, blushing and backtracking and beating around the fucking bush until Vegeta had to threaten to beat it out of him. 

The worst part of the big reveal was that Vegeta wasn’t all that surprised. He just wished he could actually remember it clearly. 

_ Fuck you, Beerus. And especially fuck you, Whis. _

“It’s not a big deal, really,” Kakarot said, looking up at the ceiling to betray his lie. “You were drunk. People do weird stuff when they’re drunk.” 

“Weird stuff? Like kissing their mortal enemy?” 

“Come on, Vegeta! I’m not your enemy anymore and you know it.” Kakarot was pouting again. “It’s just… people do stuff when they’re drunk that they might  _ want _ to do, but can’t do when they’re not drunk.” 

“That’s a myth.” Vegeta sighed and threw the pillow as hard as he could. It slammed into the wall and exploded in a puff of feathers. 

“Like I said, it’s not a big deal,” Kakarot said in a rush of words. He was fidgeting around. “You don’t even remember any of it anyway, so oh well!” He seemed to be covering something up, like he wanted to just end the conversation and be done with it. 

“Was there something else, Kakarot? Something you’re not saying?” 

Kakarot turned red again. “Umm…”

“For fuck’s sake!” Vegeta felt his energy rising dramatically. It didn’t feel good, and his whole body hurt, but he was about to hit Kakarot with everything he had. 

“You told me you love me, okay!?” Kakarot finally spat out. “I didn’t want to tell you because I felt like that was even weirder than the kissing.” 

Vegeta pressed his hands to his temples again. “Yes, Kakarot, I suppose that’s weirder than the kissing.” 

“Well anyway, I’m going to go eat breakfast now!” Kakarot jumped up and lunged toward the door. 

“Get the fuck back here!” Vegeta demanded. “I’m not done with you yet!” 

“You know, you’re the one who spent the whole night acting really strange!” Kakarot shot back from the doorway. “I don’t even know if any of it was real or if it was just because you were so drunk!” 

Vegeta sighed. Were Kakarot’s feelings actually hurt? 

“You can’t just mess with people like that, Vegeta. I didn’t know you couldn’t hold your liquor.” 

Those two statements came as a shock. Vegeta didn’t know where to begin with a response. 

“Wha-- Ugh!” He growled in frustration. If this headache would just go away, he could think more clearly - and give Kakarot a well-deserved punch in the head. “First of all, how was I supposed to know that drink would be so fucking strong!? You saw me; I took two goddamn sips of that swill. And second of all, what do you mean, messing with you? It’s not like it was intentional.” The retort came in a burst and seemed to take all of his energy. 

Kakarot was frowning. Vegeta hadn’t seen him look that upset in a long time. 

“Fine. Maybe you didn’t ‘mean’ to,” Kakarot said, air quotes and all, “but you said and did some stuff that made me feel really weird.” The last few words faded away, like he was embarrassed. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I dunno!” Kakarot flung his hands in the air. He was still standing in the doorway, evidently waiting for any moment when he could exit the conversation. “You were being so…  _ nice.  _ And it was… well, it was nice! For me, I mean.” Kakarot shrugged. “Like you actually like me and want to be around me. But apparently only when you’re completely wasted!” 

Vegeta was taken aback. He had nothing to say. Kakarot sighed and huffed out the door. 

Vegeta flung his forearm over his eyes and laid very still. 

The longer he stayed here in bed, though, the worse he knew he was bound to feel. He couldn’t even move enough to sip the water that Kakarot had brought him, and the thought of food made him want to retch again. But by far the worst feeling was the coiling guilt and embarrassment in the pit of his stomach. 

Disjointed memories had been coming back to him ever since Kakarot had finished telling the unfortunate tale. The painful reality was that he  _ had _ really been that unhinged. He could vaguely recall the affectionate moments with Kakarot - and could even remember the feeling in his chest, one that he thought he had buried years ago, that went along with those moments. 

One memory stood out, and it was painful yet thrilling.  _ I love you too. I guess I always have.  _

Why did it feel so good to have heard that? Even under the circumstances, which were admittedly fucked up, it still gave him that terrible, exciting, twisted feeling in his chest. 

And while it was disturbing that he had gotten so pathetically drunk that he had joyfully confessed his passionate love to Kakarot in a moment of immense stupidity, he had to admit that it was a burden that had been lifted, one that he had been carrying since the moment he had met the dumbass Saiyan on Earth. 

At least the words were out now. 

But now what to do about Kakarot? The idiot’s feelings were hurt, and Vegeta knew it was likely to impact their training. He’d have to say something. But what? 

He could backtrack. He could say it was all the alcohol talking. But it wasn’t. And now that it had be said, out loud,  _ by him _ , it would be weak not to follow through. 

He finally opened his eyes and sat up. The vertigo had faded, and the thunderous pain in his head had dulled to an ache. He gulped down the water at his bedside and climbed gingerly into the shower, where the warm water soothed the rest of the pains in his body.  _ I’m never drinking again _ , he thought as he staved off another minor bout of nausea. 

Clean, dressed, and perhaps somewhat presentable, he finally left the room and went to find something to eat. 

He could sense Kakarot nearby - probably training; his energy was ever so slightly elevated. Vegeta would bother with that in a bit. For now, he had to eat. He dug out the rations from Beerus’s dining room and ate them methodically, burping with every other mouthful as his mind fought his body’s rising nausea. When he was done, he closed his eyes, took a breath, and then flew to Kakarot. 

The buffoon was doing his usual drills, punch and kick, punch and kick. Vegeta watched for a moment, appreciating the deliberate yet free way that Kakarot’s body moved. He let his own energy rise slowly, a tip-off to Kakarot that he was near, figuring that the idiot would look over. 

Kakarot just ignored him. 

Vegeta growled. He would not be ignored. He timed his moment, then jumped forward and met one of Kakarot’s punches with his own fist. Kakarot furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. “I don’t want to spar right now, Vegeta,” he hissed. Yet with that, he tried to throw a punch to the side of Vegeta’s head. 

Vegeta dodged, pulled Kakarot’s arm, and tossed him with the power of his own momentum. Kakarot flew through the air with a surprised cry, then landed slowly on one foot, glaring at Vegeta during his descent. With a shout, he propelled himself through the air toward Vegeta, arm outstretched, only to send a kick toward Vegeta’s head at the last second. 

They sparred. Somehow it seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Vegeta’s headache. As soon as his head felt clear, his strength returned and the nausea faded. This could be a proper spar now - but Vegeta had something important to say. With a roar from them both, Kakarot launched his fists directly into Vegeta’s palms, giving Vegeta the chance to lock the taller Saiyan there just long enough to burst out, “Listen to me, you idiot!” 

“Why should I!?” Kakarot demanded, pushing back against Vegeta’s grasp in an attempt to throw him off-balance. 

“Everything I said last night,” Vegeta grunted, “I wasn’t just blurting out random shit in a drunken stupor.” 

“I don’t know what that means!” 

Vegeta growled in exasperation. “It means everything I said was true!” 

He kelt Kakarot’s arms - and resolve - weaken, and with that he kicked Kakarot’s legs out from under him. 

Kakarot landed on the ground with a grunt. “Ow!” he shouted. 

“Stay down and shut up.” Vegeta pressed a foot onto Kakarot’s chest. “I have something to say and it doesn’t help when you’re punching the hell out of me.” 

“Fine.” Kakarot sighed and raised his hands in submission. 

Vegeta took a breath. “I don’t fully remember what happened last night,” he said, still standing over Kakarot with the full weight of his foot pressing down. “But it’s irrelevant. The things that you say I said are true.” 

Kakarot stared up at him with wide, dark eyes. Vegeta could see that he was thinking, unsure of what to say in response. 

“The whole thing where I was apparently being ‘nice’ to you, however, was definitely due to the alcohol.” 

Kakarot smiled. “Yeah, I kinda figured.” 

Vegeta already knew the answer to his next question; it was already imprinted in his memories. But it was blurry, and dreamlike, and associated with the overall feeling of needing to vomit. So he asked anyway: “I don’t remember - when I told you about my feelings for you, what did you say in response?” 

Kakarot turned bright red. “Umm, I dunno. Let’s just forget all this happened, right?” He gave a weak, unconvincing laugh. 

Vegeta pressed his foot harder into his chest, until Kakarot gasped for air and punched at his leg. 

“Okay, okay!” Kakarot coughed and cleared this throat dramatically, then muttered something feebly. 

“Speak up, Kakarot.” Again Vegeta beared down. 

“I said I love you too, okay!?” The confession came out as a shout, desperate and tinged with embarrassment. 

To his great discomfort, Vegeta found himself turning red and hot all over, too. “Good,” he said quickly, removing his foot and turning his back to Kakarot. “I can’t be the only one making lovey-dovey confessions around here.” He folded his arms and gave a weak cough, trying to will away his own blushing. 

Suddenly his whole upper half was enveloped in a violent embrace. He tried to squirm away, but Kakarot’s grasp was so tight it almost squeezed the air out of him. The side of Kakarot’s neck pressed against his cheek, such an endearing and comforting sensation that Vegeta couldn’t help but lean into it and slowly inhale Kakarot’s scent. 

“So… Vegeta?” Kakarot said, still holding him tight. 

“Hmm.” 

“Can you never drink fermented frog brain juice again? Please?”

“Oh please, you couldn’t handle me?” Vegeta teased. 

“I could handle you just fine. I just prefer my regular Vegeta.” 

_ My regular Vegeta. _

“Whatever, idiot.” 

“Yep, just like that.” 


End file.
